Pioneer 10 is an American space probe, launched in 1972 and weighing 260 kilograms, that completed the first mission to the planet Jupiter.
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10 Facts About Pioneer 10
2.
Thereafter, Pioneer 10 became the first of five artificial objects to achieve the escape velocity needed to leave the Solar System.
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3.
The encounter trajectory for Pioneer 10 was selected to maximize the information returned about the radiation environment around Jupiter, even if this caused damage to some systems.
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4.
Pioneer 10 passed by the Moon in 11 hours and became the fastest human-made object at that time.
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5.
Nonetheless, Pioneer 10 did succeed in obtaining images of the moons Ganymede and Europa.
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6.
Trajectory of Pioneer 10 was chosen to take it behind Io, allowing the refractive effect of the moon's atmosphere on the radio transmissions to be measured.
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7.
Pioneer 10 was the first spacecraft to attempt such a maneuver and became a proof of concept for the missions that would follow.
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9.
Pioneer 10 is currently in the direction of the constellation Taurus.
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10.
Backup unit, Pioneer H, is currently on display in the "Milestones of Flight" gallery at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D C Many elements of the mission proved to be critical in the planning of the Voyager program.
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